Metro: Last Light

On:PC

When I first got my hands on the original Metro 2033, I hadnâ€™t heard of it (or the book it was based on) and had no idea what to expect. I came away from the experience incredibly impressed and having pained myself through the claustrophobic chapters - thanks to the gas masks - I wanted more. The game ended in a way that hinted something more was to come, and of course since it was based on a book that itself had a sequel, it was only logical a followup title should appear.

The game was going to be called Metro 2034 (like the second book) for a while there, but instead ended up with the name Metro: Last Light in reflection of the fact that it tells a different story to the one that appears in the novel.

Last Light takes place one year after (spoiler alert) Artyom launched the missiles on the Dark Ones and, as far as he was concerned, wiped them all out. The game starts with Artyom - saviour of Metro - being informed that a Dark One has been spotted on the surface, before he and Anna (the Rangersâ€™ best sniper), are asked to go to the surface to kill it.

As you may have read in Deneâ€™s PS3 review, things take a turn for the worst, and Artyom is dragged through an incredibly bleak adventure of misplaced trust, toxic air, a fair bit of heavy drinking, and the occasional moment or two of rest.

The world that developers 4A Games have created here is one I wish I had an Oculus Rift to experience it with. The graphics are gorgeous, and the populated areas Artyom gets to become a part of feel alive and vivid. In these areas, everywhere you go has something happening: a conversation between father and daughter, a bar filled with dejected and lost souls, quarantined patients vomiting blood, and soldiers discussing horror stories from the haunted tunnels.

The game itself is an incredibly linear experience, but not once did I feel that I wanted to veer off the beaten track. On the surface, youâ€™re anxious to get back underground, to safety, and in the monster filled catacombs, side passages could be the difference between life and death. That doesnâ€™t mean you have to take the straight path through the game, though.

You will be rewarded for doing a little exploring, whether it be via Artyomâ€™s diary notes he writes along the way, or an extra few bullets or filters for his gas mask. There are even a few moments in the â€śtownshipsâ€ť where stopping and smelling the roses will bring you nothing more than some entertainment and a breather from the incessant torture of pushing through the dread. Every step through this alternate future of ours felt like it has been crafted with an amazing sense of love and attention.

While you may be scouting the environment for bullets, gas masks, and filters, the game manages to do what a lot of other videogames seem to struggle with. More often than not, in games that require you to search about for things, itâ€™s easy to enter a new area and instead of taking it in and figuring out what needs to happen next, you start looking for the shiny objects you can pick up, hoping to secure that elusive achievement. Not here; youâ€™ll be surveying your situation, turning off lights to ensure you can stay hidden in shadows, and making sure that the growl coming from up ahead isnâ€™t something that could seriously ruin your day.... or your pants.

Last Light has some of the greatest sound design Iâ€™ve ever heard in a game, and whoever looked after that part of the development should be very happy with their work. Sure, some of the voice acting is average, but Iâ€™m talking about how well they managed to pull off surround sound, the fantastically atmospheric score, and the high quality sound effects. Iâ€™ve been gaming in 5.1 surround for close to a decade now and I thought I'd had my last â€śwhatâ€™s that noise?â€ť moment, as I look over my shoulder to a far corner of the room. I sure as hell havenâ€™t had that happen in the last five years, so to experience that again with Last Light was fantastic. There were moments where the sound design helped ground me in the world, and it made the tense parts all the better for it.

There are legitimately scary moments in Last Light, to the point itâ€™s almost one part survival horror to three parts first person shooter. Ammo is scarce, and running out is not something you can afford to do, literally, as the special ammo is also what you use as currency. Gas masks can break, and filters have a time limit to them (which can be monitored using Artyomâ€™s in-game watch.) When youâ€™re crawling through tunnels, turning off any and all lights you come across, with only a handful of bullets left, and your last filter is almost out, it can all be a bit too much. But itâ€™s oh so good.

Last Light claims to set a new graphical benchmark for PC thanks to the lighting effects and physics engine, and some of the stuff in here truly needs to be seen. Thereâ€™s a moment in the game where a character is about to show off something heâ€™s been working on; itâ€™s hidden under a patchy quilted sheet. As he and I walked towards it I couldnâ€™t help but predict thereâ€™d be an unveiling, and having never seen this done in a game before without looking terrible, I instantly predicted how bad it would look. I was wrong.... so wrong. With one fluid motion the sheet is pulled back and it flows effortlessly over the object in an incredibly life-like fashion. I smiled.

That wasnâ€™t the only moment where the game tickled that graphics hungry part of my brain, though. Early on thereâ€™s a moment, a small scene that by itself probably wouldnâ€™t have been memorable, and it involves a room filled with smoke. In any standard game youâ€™d see the characters walk through and think nothing of it, but when the two people in front of you start walking and their presence causes the smoke to part and slightly follow them, as if there was actually some form of atmosphere in that room, itâ€™s just... itâ€™s new, it looks great, and it really sells the immersion.

Sadly, there are also immersion killers. Last Light suffers from the same thing BioShock Infinite suffered from: in cutscenes, your character has arms, legs and even a body, but in-game (despite the shadow being cast from the lantern behind you) youâ€™re nothing but two disembodied arms holding a gun. A little consistency would have gone a long way, and the same could be said about Artyomâ€™s venture into the Guild of the Silent Protagonists.

Between missions Artyom explains whatâ€™s happening, while a map shows us where heâ€™s heading and where heâ€™s been. Theyâ€™ve chosen a fairly decent voice-actor for him and he sounds believable enough, but the second Artyom is talked to in-game, even if itâ€™s a fairly important question that he wouldnâ€™t mind answering... nothing. There doesnâ€™t seem to be a reason behind his decision to stay quiet, and near the end where some talking could do some good... nothing.

Those who havenâ€™t played the original should definitely start there as Metro: Last Light feels like a direct sequel in every way: it feels familiar and inviting but also new and intriguing. Those who jump straight into the sequel will probably get a little lost in the story, plus youâ€™re robbing yourself of some of the most claustrophobic gaming ever created. Last Light is a first person shooter that tries not to be one, and itâ€™ll likely be looked down upon by those wanting something a little faster and "shootier."

While the game can be played in a more traditional fashion, youâ€™re kinda missing the point of what the game is asking of you. Soldiers wonâ€™t attack what they canâ€™t see, and they canâ€™t defend against your blade if they donâ€™t know youâ€™re there. While the stealth approach is clearly the route 4A Games wants you to take, even the best laid plans can go awry. While you may be able to clear an area without being noticed and without losing a single bullet, this wonâ€™t be something youâ€™ll achieve easily; it only takes one soldier to create a bulletstorm.

People looking for a story-driven first person adventure will see past the small faults it contains and will be rewarded instead by being captivated by the game's detailed world. Now, can someone please get the guys at Oculus to hurry up with the retail release of the Oculus Rift?

Thanks for the great review and thanks for letting us know how relevant playing the last one is to the storyline. Sounds amazing and well worth the look once I have given 2033 a go *insert xbox one 2nd hand fee reference here*